The Ogunquit kite master's festival

Larry Smith said if he had to use one word to describe kite flying, it would be "tranquility."

Rachel Collins

Larry Smith said if he had to use one word to describe kite flying, it would be "tranquility."

"It's a very peaceful thing to do," said the 67-year-old kite enthusiast from Ogunquit, Maine. "It's just a marvelous thing."

Certainly Smith should know.

Although he has been flying kites since 1986, he began pursuing his hobby in "earnest" on Jan. 1, 2000.

That's when, while flying a kite on Ogunquit Beach, he happened to mention to a friend of his that he could do that every day.

"She said, 'I bet you couldn't," Smith said.

And with that, he began a journey in which he flew kites for 550 days straight in 10 countries and 15 states.

"For a brief period of time I had the record for the most consecutive days flying a kite," he said.

However, his record never quite made it into the Guinness Book, since someone else soon flew a kite for a year-and-half straight.

No matter, Smith can now rattle off a series of locales where he has flown a kite while on trips with his wife, Marcia, throughout the United States and Europe.

"I flew a kite on 42nd Street in New York City, at the United Nations building, in Iceland, Venice and even at the Kitty Hawk monument," he said.

In fact, as he and his wife traveled south to Florida in 2000, he stopped in every state to fly a kite.

The only place he ever was ticketed was New Orleans, when he took his kite out to the Riverwalk at 6 a.m.

"Apparently they have an ordinance prohibiting kite flying on the Riverwalk," he said, even though he noted the only two on the walk at the time were himself and the police officer.

Still, kite flying is something that can be done just about anywhere by just about anyone — barring those kinds of local ordinances, power lines or winds above 20 miles per hour or so, Smith said.

"Anyone can do it," he said. "And it's very inexpensive. You can buy a kite for less than $10."

Of course, there are enthusiasts who will spend thousands of dollars on special kites that, once in the air, can look like characters like scuba divers or lobsters or even a 25-foot-high wheel, that inflates rather than becoming very airborne.

In fact, one reason Smith got hooked on kite flying is because years ago he bought out the inventory of a kite shop going out of business nearby his Ogunquit Camera shop and Cricket's Corner store.

"I purchased all of their inventory," he said. "Then I kept all the soiled ones or those in damaged packaging for my own inventory."

These days Smith's collection includes about 100 kites.

And today, in the corner of his Ogunquit shop, now run by his daughter Tracy with help from his wife Marcia, there is an array of kites for sale.

Although those in the shop range in price from $5.95 to $200, Tracy said she has special ordered kites that are worth hundreds of dollars.

"The kite flying starts here in April and runs through October," she said.

In fact, the Nor'easters — an unofficial kite club — encourages kite enthusiasts to meet the second Saturday of every month at Bug Light Park in South Portland, except the winter months.

Whenever the kite flyers get together, there are not only the typical single line kites, but others that include stunt kites and kites with multiple lines.

Kite enthusiasts often are also willing to share their kites with others — to get even more hooked on flying.

In fact, Smith is the one who started the annual Capricccio Festival of Kites on Ogunquit Beach.

As many as 500 kites have been in the sky at one time during this event, which will celebrate its 10th year on Sept. 8 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"It's a true festival," Smith said. "The whole idea is to have an event that doesn't cost anything."

It all began when Smith was on the local Board of Selectmen.

"One night, when it got quite contentious, at the end of the meeting I said, "I can't in good conscience accept the $1,000 salary for all this nonsense,'" he said.

So he started spending the money on kites that he would give away to children at the festival.

These days sponsors, like Kennebunk Savings Bank, will be donating the money for up to 350 so-called white "Frustrationless" flyers, while Tracy and other members of the Ogunquit Rotary Club will assemble the kites.

And, before setting them aloft during the festival along the beach, the children will decorate the free kites with markers.

"Ogunquit is an arts community, so the kids are given a plain white kite and then have fun decorating them," Smith said.

Then judges, including Smith, have fun giving out 40 or so odd prizes for categories they make up as they go along — which, in the past, have included the first to be tangled and the first to hit the sea.

"It's 100 percent fun," he said. "People come to me every year and ask why don't you increase the cost of the T-shirts — which I sell at cost — and I say it's not about making money, it's about having a fun day at the beach that doesn't cost anything."

It's also about introducing a lot of people to the fun of flying a kite.

"It gets you outside and it's so peaceful and totally relaxing," said Tracy Smith. "No matter what your age, you feel like a kid again."

Think you or your group should be profiled in Get off the Couch? Contact Rachel Collins at Rcollinsme@aol.com.

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